Characterization of physico-chemical properties and pharmaceutical performance of sucrose co-freeze-dried solid nanoparticulate powders of the anti-HIV agent loviride prepared by media milling.

In order to improve the dissolution and absorption properties of loviride, a poorly soluble antiviral agent, sucrose co-freeze-dried nanopowders were prepared, characterized and evaluated. Tween 80/poloxamer 188-stabilized nanosuspensions were produced on a laboratory scale using media milling. The milling process was monitored by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and resulted in particles with a mean size of 264+/-14nm and a distribution width of 59+/-6nm after 4h of milling. Co-freeze-drying of the nanosuspensions with sucrose had an inhibiting effect on nanoparticle agglomeration and yielded solid "nanopowders" that were resuspendable and homogeneous with respect to loviride content. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) confirmed the presence of small loviride crystallites and indicated that sucrose and poloxamer 188 were crystalline. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed melting peaks of poloxamer 188, sucrose and loviride. Time-resolved XRPD indicated that sucrose crystallization was complete within 24h of storage. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) suggested the formation of sheet-like matrix structures. The dissolution rate of loviride from the nanopowders was excellent. A Caco-2 experiment on the nanopowder showed a significantly higher cumulative amount transported after 120min (1.59+/-0.02microg) compared to the physical mixture (0.93+/-0.01microg) and the untreated loviride (0.74+/-0.03mcirog).

Physically crosslinked dextran hydrogels by stereocomplex formation of lactic acid oligomers: degradation and protein release behavior.

Hydrogels, physically crosslinked through stereocomplex formation, were obtained by mixing aqueous solutions of dextran with L-lactic acid grafts and dextran with D-lactic acid grafts. Protein-loaded hydrogels were simply prepared by dissolving the protein in these dextran solutions prior to mixing. It was shown that under physiological conditions the gels are fully degradable. When the gels were exposed to an aqueous buffer solution, they first showed a swelling phase in which their weight increased 2-3 times due to absorption of water, followed by a dissolution phase. The degradation time depended on the composition of the hydrogel, i.e., the number of lactate grafts, the length and polydispersity of the grafts and the initial water content, and varied from 1 to 7 days. Most likely, the degradation of the stereocomplex hydrogel started with hydrolysis of the carbonate ester, which links the lactate graft to dextran. The gels showed a release of the entrapped model proteins (IgG and lysozyme) over 6 days and the kinetics depended on the gel characteristics, such as the polydispersity of the lactate grafts and the initial water content. Lysozyme was mainly released by Fickian diffusion, indicating that its hydrodynamic diameter is smaller than the hydrogel mesh size. On the other hand the release of IgG was governed by diffusion as well as swelling/degradation of the hydrogel. Importantly, the proteins were quantitatively released from the gels and with full preservation of the enzymatic activity of lysozyme, emphasizing the protein-friendly preparation method of the protein-loaded stereocomplex hydrogel.